CIVIL servants have been caught out using Government credit cards to pay for alcohol, five-star hotel rooms and other treats at taxpayers’ expense, a report by MPs revealed last night.

A swoop by Cabinet Office officials found 99 cases of “inappropriate use” of the cards in Whitehall over the past three years. In many cases, staff at the Department for Work and Pensions were even allowed to spend public money on the cards without submitting receipts.

Senior MPs demanded stricter controls across Whitehall on use of the cards. The abuse was laid bare in a report from the Commons Public Accounts Committee. The committee called for clear rules setting out which officials were entitled to use the cards and for what.

The report demanded fewer bookings for five-star hotels and a ban on alcohol purchases. Previously released details show the cards were also used to buy doughnuts and download music at iTunes.

Committee chairman Margaret Hodge said: “The controls currently applied to the use of the Government Procurement Card by civil servants and other public employees are not strict enough to deter and prevent inappropriate use.”

There must be transparency to weed out inappropriate use

Robert Oxley, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance

The cards allow staff to make purchases conveniently but tax campaigners seized on the fresh evidence of waste.

Robert Oxley, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “There must be transparency to weed out inappropriate use.”

Welcoming the report, Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude said: “Properly used these cards can save the taxpayer money, and make fraud easier to detect, but we will not tolerate their abuse.”